


My wolf friend

by purplefox



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Shifter AU, time flies when you're immortal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 14:43:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11785308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplefox/pseuds/purplefox
Summary: Kakashi minding his own business when he found himself having to babysit a kid with no self preservation, no concerned parents- the list could go on and on but the problem with doing the right thing and taking the kid safely back home was that he kept coming back- something was wrong about the whole thing.





	My wolf friend

**Author's Note:**

> I had intended it to go well my normal way but I got tired and couldn't keep it going anymore so enjoy

He could feel the dew on his paws with every step that he took. His pace was slow and careful and although Kakashi would prefer to be sleeping deep in the forest he had something to do and it involved the small weight on his back.

He was so close to calling child services because this was the fifth time he had to do this. The fifth time he had found this child wandering the forest as though he had every business doing it and it was the fifth time he had brought the child back home. It was getting tiring in many ways and the last thing Kakashi wanted to do was let the child get accustomed to huge wolves bringing him home.

As it was having the child on his back brought the child joy. He was absolutely fearless. The way he so happily sat on Kakashi’s back and griped his fur in his small hands. Kakashi had no idea how he managed to escape time and time again. He was a child yes but he had to be old enough that someone told him going into the forest was dangerous.

Kakashi let out a small sigh and the figure on his back shifted, lightly kicking him in the side with sneakers. Kakashi sighed again even as he kept his slow pace. The last thing he wanted was for the boy to fall off. It was not far away to the boy’s house but running could make the boy let go and as it was walking slowly kept him calm.

Kakashi still would have preferred sleeping to having to deal with the situation though. He had half a mind to talk to the kid’s parents about their child’s habits.

X

He had finally made it. Kakashi slowly laid down and gave a small whine to tell the child on his back that it was time to get off. The ride was over already. Time to go home. It took a bit of shifting and effort but the boy slid off and Kakashi sighed in relief.

Small hands sank into his fur by his head and Kakashi turned around to see the smiling face and blue eyes. His tongue rolled out of his mouth and he was unable to help letting his tail wag. Worrying circumstances aside. The kid was pretty alright. He was not cruel, he sat passively on Kakashi’s back and just patted him during their trip back.

Other than the fact that the kid was a kid and Kakashi had not even shown the kid that he had a human form too it would be perfect. Except that the fact that the kid wandered the forests without a care in the world with only a backpack for company and he had a habit of getting lost.

The first time Kakashi had to sniff out the kid’s address based on the berry bush in the backyard. Now he felt he could find the house with his eyes closed and that in itself was annoying.

He slowly got to his feet, he still towered over the kid and that was just scary. The kid’s hand was tangled in his fur and Kakashi sighed to himself as he walked with the kid to the front gate. Someone needed to talk to the kid’s parents eventually.

He watched the kid let himself inside and he sat patiently until the kid headed to the front door. It was only when the kid started running back to him did Kakashi get a little worried, that was of course until the kid reopened the front gate and flung himself onto Kakashi to hug him. “Thanks!” The boy laughed and Kakashi allowed himself a sigh

X

Kakashi was not touched. Not at all. The wet smack to his nose that the boy had done was not cute in any way. The only thing he felt was worry for the boy obviously. Someone should be teaching the child something. Like not to kiss dogs for one. The child’s health could be at risk if he smooched the wrong thing. He wouldn’t be in danger from Kakashi because shifters were pretty clean but Kakashi had been rolling in the leaves for the better half of the morning.

And he had only taken a dip in the river after he had brought down the stag so god only knew if some of the blood had remained. A distressed whine left his throat at the thought of the child being so damn careless and reckless. Kakashi honestly wanted to have a conversation with the kid’s parents.

They were around because Kakashi could smell them on the kid. It was a strong scent meaning they interacted a lot with the kid but obviously, they were not doing enough. The kid was wandering the woods babbling to wild animals as though he were in a Disney movie.

Honestly somebody needed to set the kid right before something bad happened. Every day Kakashi did not see the kid his stomach clenched and he ended up passing by the house when he swore not to get involved. It was more of a hassle than it ever should have been.

X

The boy had a book this time. Kakashi opened one eye in time to see the book the kid had clutched in his hand. He gave himself a moment to wonder if he was going to be clobbered over the head with it before the wind was knocked out of him by the kid suddenly turning around and sitting on his side.

Kakashi raised his head to glare at the kid because he was many thing but a chair or cushion were not any of those things before he caught sight of the book properly. Plenty of pictures of dogs on the cover but scrawled on the corner of it by an obviously adult hand was the name Uzumaki Naruto. It made him wonder if that was the kid’s name.

Still Kakashi resigned himself to being a cushion as the kid flipped opened the book. It was when a good ten minutes had passed that Kakashi raised his head and eyed the kid because the kid looked pretty young. How old were kids when they learned to read?

X

He finally spotted the kid’s parents and Kakashi was tempted to go change and give the lecture of the lifetime if it wasn’t for how they treated him. With laughter and attention. It made him wonder how the hell the kid had managed to get to the woods in the first place.

“Want some ice-cream Naruto?” The blonde man asked, he looked so much like the kid Kakashi had not even needed his nose to tell him that was the kid’s Dad.

But Naruto. So that was the kid’s name. He snuffled under the undergrowth as he watched the little family. They looked happy and attentive, so why the hell did the kid keep wandering into the woods? It just made no sense but the kid looked so happy. But how old was he. That was the real question.

X

“You’re not a dog.” The voice was soft and childish. Kakashi opened his eye to only see Naruto’s face close to his muzzle his blue eyes open and serious.

Not a dog, well congratulate the kid if he only now figured that out. Kakashi huffed and rolled over then thumped his tail. He would have to take the brat home again. Not that it was tiring although the boy did seem a bit heavier lately. Kakashi had no idea why, he did not know that much about kids but he did know that Naruto was weird for one of them.

Not much he could do there since the kid sought him out willingly. Kakashi sighed again before he yelped when fat fingers tugged on his ear. “You look weird for a wolf. Are you a wolf?”

Weird? How the hell would the kid-

Kakashi sighed before he wiggled out the child’s hold and struggled to his feet. Enough was enough, honestly. Weird for a wolf, who cared that the kid had just gotten there, it was time for him to go.

Kakashi ignored Naruto’s yelp before he grabbed the child’s collar in his teeth. It took some fancy moves to toss the kid onto his back but Kakashi had been doing this nonsense for a while now. He picked up the boy’s bag, sniffed around for more items while he ignored fingers trailing through his fur.

When he was satisfied that Naruto had left nothing behind he took off for the boy’s house. He ignored the excited babbling on his back. Of course such a move was reckless but Kakashi was too tired to deal with Naruto today, best take the brat where he belonged and let his people take care of him.

Instead of dropping him at the gate, Kakashi leapt over it. He ignored the boy’s talking and dropped the bag from his mouth and let Naruto slide off. He suffered through the hug. Arms wrapped around his neck and a face pressed to his throat before he was allowed to escape.

It was when he had leapt over the fence again that he realized that the window had been open. It was when he looked back warily that he saw the man he had seen before at the park and he was staring at Kakashi in shock.

Kakashi did the only thing he could have, he fled.

X

Kakashi cowered in the forest after the incident. He had gotten so worked up, been so insulted he had allowed their strange interactions to be seen and that was more than a rookie move. It was a very stupid one.

He had expected a hunt of sorts, a mass hunt with worried parents combing the forest because god help him he had been so stupid. The kid was just a kid, he would dismiss the interactions when he got older, even if someone believed him they would think Kakashi had been a dog abandoned. That was if Kakashi had remained unobserved.

Being spotted changed things. He had not just been observed, he had been observed doing some very unlike wolf like behaviour. Rookie mistake. Kakashi shoved his head under a pile of leaves and whimpered. It was not fair.

X

He was an idiot a complete idiot. Kakashi hid under the bush as he watched the child on the swing set. Actually considering how big Naruto was, he might not be as young as Kakashi had first considered. Things tended to blur together the longer he was in wolf form.

It got harder and harder to remember what thinking like a pure human was like. Hard to make sense of the little things. For Kakashi, watching Naruto on the swing set when he should be hiding as far away from humans as possible… he was unable to move.

X

The child had to have infected him somehow, it was pure stupidity. Kakashi sighed as he waited. The first time he was going to meet Naruto instead of the other way around. Enough time had passed, maybe too much time considering Naruto’s scent had faded from many of Kakashi’s places.

Still he was waiting.

Soft footsteps on the path made his ears prick up. He got to his feet and his tongue rolled out in greeting although Kakashi was not on board for that amount of affection.

Somehow Naruto had gotten even bigger, his cheeks were not as fat, his arms as well. Still the blue eyes were the same while the hair had gotten longer. The smile on his face was the same and the sound of his laughter, something was wrong with Kakashi because it made him happy.

X

Why was he walking a kid home from school, he was not an actual dog. Kakashi lowered his head and sighed. Naruto’s hand was in his fur keeping him steady as if Kakashi was going to bound off somewhere. He had been thinking it for a while but maybe he should change back soon.

Time moved on but Naruto, every time Kakashi saw him he was bigger and different than the time before his scent changing the whole time.

X

A teenager, that was why. Kakashi shook his head and fought the urge to shift back. Now he got it time really had been flowing by. His days were kept simple so he had not noticed. Naruto was old enough, he had to have figured out some of it, most of it.

“Oh.” A soft voice said behind him. Kakashi turned to see Naruto outside the park looking right at him. “It’s you.”

“What?” Kakashi frowned.

“I knew you weren’t a normal wolf.” Naruto took a slow step forward. “You’re a shifter.”

“I didn’t know you had gotten so old.” Kakashi admitted, he shoved his hands into his jeans and considered the boy. “You have no self preservation.”

“Yeah.” Naruto laughed. “Dad told me that too and then you disappeared for three years right after. I was worried.”

“I hadn’t known it was so long.” Kakashi admitted. “How did you know it was me?”

“You stood the same way you do when you are a wolf. When you’re waiting, like all the world is going to crash on you just for standing there.” Naruto smiled sadly. “Wolves don’t do that and since I met you, I’ve been reading up on them.”

“You’re not afraid.”

“You’ve been my friend this long.” Naruto smiled. What the hell, it was too late to run anyway.

 


End file.
